Northwestern University Revokes Bill Cosby’s Honorary Degree

The downward spiral continues for Bill Cosby in the wake of his April conviction for aggravated assault in Philadelphia. Northwestern University is the latest to rescind the honorary doctorate they gave the disgraced actor/stand-up comedian in 1997. This marks the first time that Northwestern has revoked an honorary degree.

Trustees voted unanimously Monday to revoke Cosby’s honorary degree. “Northwestern University is committed to fostering an environment in which all members of its community are safe, secure, and free from sexual misconduct,” the school said in the release, “The University prohibits all forms of sexual misconduct, including but not limited to, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, stalking, dating or domestic violence, and sexual harassment.”

Northwestern’s revoked degree is one of many. In April, Temple University rescinded the honorary doctorate awarded to Cosby in 1991 while Ohio State University revoked an honorary degree given to him when he spoke at a commencement in 2001. Yale also revoked the degree given to Cosby in 2003, which was a first for the Ivy League school’s 317-year history. Also on the list of revoked Cosby degrees are Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, and Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.